Oromia Regional Government with its unprecedented decision to respond to public demand for quality education and school infrastructure standards has allocated over 5.5 billion Birr from its 2020/21 fiscal year. The budget was channeled for 100 Ifa Boru secondary schools and 7 Ifa Boru Secondary Special Boarding Schools.

What grabs our discernment is the completion and enrolment of students of this huge project with expected quality in one fiscal year. Government construction development enterprises and private construction companies have exerted their at most efforts for the project realization.

Here the case in point is related to the Boarding Schools. As alluded to above, the quest for quality of education has been in the air decades long in Oromia. Oromia Education Bureau responding to the long existent ultimatum had made a calculated survey, which guided the opening of boarding schools as a strategy to make a positive competition among primary schools students, teachers, families and education institutions in general. Since the beginning of the project Oromia Education Bureau started to air the quality, criteria to join and objective of the boarding schools with the aim of crating competition and attention of stake holders mainly primary school communities (students, teachers, families) getting the chance to the boarding schools.

Now the schools, which used the already established Oromia Development Association Boarding School as a minimum benchmark, have enrolled 1, 522 students in grade 9 this academic year. Students’ criteria to join the school is high grade 8 regional examination result, grades 7 to 8 transcript, English and Mathematics to sit for entrance exam. Teacher’s recruitment follows the same pattern: minimum masters degree for the necessary field of study, high university cumulative GPA and minimum of 5 years teaching experience to sit for entrance exam. The teachers and the school leadership have attractive top-ups in addition to their salary.

Facilities in the School

The schools are spread on 16 hectares of land, out of which 2 have been greenery dressed, with well-built gymnasiums, amphitheaters, swimming pools, various out-door games fields, 24 hours internet access, libraries, workshops, animal farms, quality male and female dormitories, cafeterias, some teachers and school leadership residences and what you have.

The schools have the sum of manpower: 245 teachers, 21 leadership, 63 cafeteria workers, 245 support staffs which does not include laborers on animal farm and on greenery.

The schools give additional subjects to prepare the students at a higher level. They have the opportunity for elective international languages study like French, Chinese and Arabic while the medium of instruction except local languages is English. One additional subject entitled ‘Area Study’ is also included.

The schools are on preparation to be publicly inaugurated in the few weeks to come.